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Friday, June 27, 2014

Run, Don't Walk to Target's Dollar Spot!!!

Never Hear, "I can't get the glue to come out!" again.

Here are my 3 best tips for managing white glue in the classroom, but read fast so you can get to Target and grab these adorable ketchup & mustard glue bottles and turn them into "clog-free" bottles.

You get 2 bottles for $1.00.

1. No Clog Glue Bottles:

These bottles are the perfect size for little hands. But I have a trick that will keep the tip from getting clogged with glue. So read on!

FIRST: You should coat the threads of the bottle with petroleum jelly (so you can always get the top off to re-fill the bottle), fill the bottle with white glue, and replace the cap.

SECOND: Pick up a package of brush rollers. Not the self-gripping kind, but the ones that come with plastic pins like these:

These were $4.49 at Rite Aid.

I found these at Rite Aid. You can use the rollers for painting or you can even pop them into your estimation jar, but the best part of this package of rollers is the little pack of plastic pins.

They fit perfectly in the little glue bottles. When your students are ready to glue, all they have to do is give the plastic pin a little twist and pull it out. I teach them to place the pin on their glue tray (see tip #3 below to find out what a glue tray is). No more clogged bottles EVER! :)

When they are done glueing, they just push the plastic pin back into the nozzle.

And the regular cap on these bottles can be snapped onto the base to create a loop. If your tables get cluttered, you can hang the bottles on hooks attached below the tables or attached below a shelf in your classroom. Just use the hooks with the sticky back.

2. No Sticky Fingers When Gluing Tiny Pieces Together:

The Dollar Store usually has these little cube-shaped containers, but you can use any small air-tight container. Fill it completely with a sponge. I like the cube-shaped containers because I have lots of thick foam which I can easily cut into cubes that fit perfectly in these containers.

The popsicle molds hold 3 fat crayons or 6 small crayons in each section.
The small rectangular box holds broken and peeled blue crayons for use, on their sides, as background crayons.

Wet the sponge and place it in the container.

Add white glue to the top of the sponge and allow it to soak into the sponge.

Cover the container.

When your students need to glue a tiny piece of paper down, all they have to do is open the container, press the tiny piece on the gluey sponge, and it is ready to glue down on their project!

Each Friday, I open the containers and add a little water and more glue.

3. The No-mess Glue Tray:

I got this idea from a colleague.

I collected plastic lids for each table.

I like to put green lids at the green table, red lids at the red table, Etc. :)

When the students need to use white glue, they squeeze a little puddle of glue onto the glue tray.

Using their pointer finger, they dab it into the glue and apply the glue to their project.

Then, they scrape off any excess glue onto the edge of the glue tray and just rub their thumb on their pointer finger to rub off any residue. That's it! :)

I have one glue container on a table for 3 students to share. I put the container with the purple lid at the purple table, blue lid at the blue table, etc. There isn't a red lid, so that table got pink. :)

The popsicle molds are from stores like CVS. I buy them whenever I see them. Last year the 99 cent store had them. I never have to check to see if everyone has all of the colors in their crayon boxes. There are always more than enough of each color in the popsicle holders. And the added bonus is that it encourages sorting every day during clean up time. :) Save the plastic popsicle sticks for your estimation jar or for a color sorting activity. :)